Get in the mood for Fringe

What: Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival When: Shows start tonight, festival continues to Sept. 4 Where: Various Victoria locations (see intrepidtheatre.com for full schedule and tickets) Tickets: Single tickets are $9 and $11. You must have a $6 Fringe button to see shows. Purchase online at intrepidtheatre.com or call Ticket Rocket at 250-590-6291

Although the fun started Monday with the Fringe Jamboree (singalongs, kiddie frolics), the Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival begins in earnest tonight when the first shows open.

If you’re new to this alternative theatre festival, you might be wondering what to see. With 50-plus productions on offer, the Victoria Fringe can seem, well . . . daunting.

Not to worry. Here’s a fistful of recommendations to get you started:

The Jupiter Rebellion: Former Victorian Jeff Laird has scored stellar reviews with his fringe offerings. This one promises rambunctious fun: a solo sci-fi comedy.

Get Lost: Britain’s Jem Rolls is a spoken-word poet who mixes humour with dazzling verbal gymnastics. Trust me, Rolls is always worth seeing.

I Forgot to Fly Today: Australian Trent Baumann, a.k.a. the Birdmann, is a comic surrealist who never fails to charm and amuse.

Little Orange Man: Victoria’s Ingrid Hansen has scored oodles of plaudits with her tale of a little Danish girl and her weirdo puppets.

6 Quick Dick Tricks — A Dirk Darrow Investigation: These noir detective spoofs by Australia’s Tim Motley are always popular with audiences. The fact that Motley is a clever magician somehow imbues the familiar private-dick shtick with new life.

An Improvised Quentin Tarantino 2 — The Playful 8: Victoria’s Paper Street Theatre has built a strong following for its improvised send-ups of film and literature. Leading the merry crew is Dave Morris, who is to improv what Willie Mays was to baseball.

Pandemonium: U.K. spoken-word whiz Rob Gee serves funny, irreverent monologues brimming with intelligence and humanity.